


'tis the damn season

by authorizedfiction



Category: Boruto: Naruto Next Generations, Naruto
Genre: #ASasuSakuChristmas, Angst, Christmas Fluff, Compilation, Complete, Drabble Collection, Drama, F/M, Fluff, Gifts, Music, Romance, SasuSaku - Freeform, Simbang Gabi, outreach program, will add tags as I go along
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-23
Updated: 2020-12-27
Packaged: 2021-03-10 16:28:49
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 4
Words: 2,489
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28260183
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/authorizedfiction/pseuds/authorizedfiction
Summary: several narratives of how sasuke and sakura spend the holiday season./a series of drabbles for #asasusakuchristmas/ratings & genres may vary.
Relationships: Haruno Sakura/Uchiha Sasuke
Comments: 1
Kudos: 29





	1. day 1: music

**Author's Note:**

> day 1: music  
> rating: g  
> genre: romance/fluff

**Day 1: Music**

* * *

To say that Sakura was upset this Christmas Eve wouldn’t be too far off the mark entirely. 

Disappointment had welled within her, and as a means to distract herself from such, she’d taken the holiday shift off of another medical ninja’s hands at the last minute, fully determined to drown herself in her work.

Her sulking had begun several days prior. 

In their frequent exchange of letters, the one person that she wanted to spend Christmas with had promised her he’d come home for the holidays. For weeks she had decorated her small apartment, procured the best ingredients for a Christmas dinner, and scoured the whole village to find a present that he would most likely enjoy. 

All of these turned for naught, the moment a hawk visited her windowsill armed with a piece of parchment informing her that ill weather had gotten in the way of their plans. 

Now as she finished her hospital shift and trudged home clutching her coat for warmth as she braved the cold, she thought not just of how her plans were ruined but that, yet again, for another holiday, Sasuke Uchiha would be alone.

Sakura knew that her boyfriend wasn’t one for celebrating the holidays. The yearly festivities that had a long-standing tradition involving family had long since lost its splendor for him ever since tragedy became imbibed with his past.

Yet Sakura hoped, and hoped dearly, that she would’ve been able to at least make it a little bit more bearable for him.

She hadn’t prepared anything too over the top really, just a small dinner with candlelight, then afterwards they’d near her fireplace and enjoy a hot cup of cocoa which she would make sure was not too sweet to his liking. She’d give him a new travel cloak to keep him warm in his travels as a gift and she’d listen to his adventures on the road as the night progressed. 

It was simple, wholesome, perfect

_—and sadly officially canceled._

Now she’d have to settle with turning an early night in and succumbing to the tub of strawberry ice cream that she had stashed for emergency situations of heartbreak.

Perhaps she could try again next year. Surely the weather wouldn’t be as cruel to cross her twice?

Upon arriving home, Sakura slid open her apartment door and realized two things in particular.

One being that her door wasn’t locked. 

And two, that meant that someone had entered her home uninvited.

Cautiously she stepped inside, weary of any wayward assailants. The inside of her home was dim— it seemed that someone had lit up her fireplace with a steady warmth. Nearing her living room, she saw that a small feast for two had been placed at the middle of her coffee table as well. 

The sight itself incessantly confused her and she was just about to check the rest of her apartment in panic until she turned around and saw a familiar figure standing behind her. A figure that in fact seemed to be holding two steaming cups of what looked to be hot cocoa.

Sakura blinked—once, twice— convinced that what she was seeing was a delusion.

Sasuke approached her then, handing her one of the cups and kissing her forehead in greeting. “It took you long enough to get home.”

Sakura inspected the cup’s contents and took a tentative sip. She was pleased to find that he had added the small marshmallows that she loved. 

She cast him an accusatory glance. “I thought you weren’t coming?”

He gave a shrug. “I wanted to surprise you.”

Sakura frowned. “I was very upset.”

Sasuke scratched the back of his head awkwardly. “I figured as much when you didn’t reply to my last letter,” he then took her half-empty cup and settled it down the coffee table with his, “how may I make it up to you then?”

Sakura raised a brow as if to ask if he was serious. 

Sasuke merely raised a brow back only awaiting her answer.

She paused for a moment then, hesitant in voicing her wants. She recalled the nights her parents spent Christmas together and wondered if Sasuke would entertain a desire of hers that was so mundane and childish.

“It’s going to be a ridiculous request.” She said reluctantly.

Sasuke remained stoic, unphased. “Just tell me.”

Sakura bit on her lower lip. If he’d decline, she’d understand. She’d just deal with the embarrassment afterwards. 

With one deep breath, she gave him her answer. “Dance with me.”

The boy looked at her, his brows raised. “Right now?”

She nodded. “Right now.” 

Sasuke wasted no time. He grabbed her hands to encircle them upon his neck and pressed his body towards hers. He let her head nestle upon his chest and secured his arm upon her waist. They moved in slow gentle sways upon her living room floor, Sasuke leading them with tender grace.

He couldn’t help but chuckle. “This is all you need?”

Being so near him made Sakura feel the soft vibrations of his laugh and made her think of how she’d probably never tire of the sound. 

She lifted her head and met his eyes to give him a warm smile.“All I need is you.”

“Do you think we need music?” He asked. Despite the ambient light, Sakura could’ve sworn a tinge of red colored his cheeks.

Sakura shook her head. “No, I don’t think we do.”

The crackle of firewood and the warmth of his beating heart as she leaned upon his chest was all that she needed to listen to. And to her, this music, this sound, this was enough.

* * *

_“Merry Christmas, Sakura.”_

_“Merry Christmas, Sasuke-kun.”_


	2. day 2: gifts

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> several narratives of how sasuke and sakura spend the holiday season.
> 
> /a series of drabbles for #asasusakuchristmas/
> 
> ratings & genres may vary.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> day 2: gifts  
> rating: g  
> genre: romance/angst

**Day 2: Gifts**

* * *

With the harsh winter winds blowing outside their window, Sakura woke up on Christmas morning staring at the face of the man she loves.

This was a sight she saw every day since his return and yet it was a view she’d never grow tired of seeing.

Sakura gazed at the slant of his nose, the point of his chin, the length of his lashes; she counted his steady inhales and exhales and savored the reality of him being hers for the moment.

She recounted the past few days they’d spent together, full of comfortable silences and peaceful glee. She thought of how the presents worth while never really came in boxes, as Sasuke Uchiha for all that he is, was the only thing she’d ever wanted.

Christmas is a season of giving, a time to be selfless, a time to give way for others, but in these early hours she let herself indulge in greed.

Because on this day, there was only one gift that she could give the man that lay beside her— only one thing that mattered.

She’d seen his far off looks as he stared at the sky above and the awe like nostalgia set in his bones when he talks of the roads he walked and paths he took. A wanderer, an adventurer, a traveler, freedom, him.

The moment he opens his eyes, it would be their last few moments of close proximity.

He’d peek with one eye open and a groan, his hoarse voice greeting her a low good morning and she’d kiss the top of his head, then his nose, then his lips and they’d make love. They’d cook breakfast, wander through the village, attend Christmas dinner with their friends and when they’d go home, she’d tell him.

She was giving him back.

She couldn’t keep him here near her heart as kindling for her own affections. She couldn’t chain him to a life that only fed her selfish desires of him and only him.

So on Christmas night as the winter winds blew outside their window, Sakura let Sasuke go and gave him the only gift she could give that mattered.

_“I’m setting you free.”_

* * *


	3. day 3: simbang gabi

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> day 3: simbang gabi  
> rating: g  
> genre: romance/drama

**Day 3: Simbang Gabi**

* * *

On the dawn of the last mass, Sakura found herself with her hands clasped together and her head bowed down in front of nine lit candles. She had bought one for each mornight and offered her prayers filled with fervent hope.

It was a well-known tradition— attend nine masses at dawn without fail and have one wish be granted upon their completion. 

Sakura Haruno wasn’t one to believe in miracles. She didn’t buy into blowing on stray eyelashes, and wishing wells, and shooting stars. Sakura had always believed in making her own luck and striving towards deserving the things she implored to achieve. 

She wasn’t one for relying on circumstance, however after all these years of yearning and longing for something that was so far out of her reach, perhaps now would be an opportune time to ask for a divine intervention. 

It was just one wish that she wanted for herself— one wish that she’d been dreaming of happening each year. 

With her eyes closed, Sakura thought of him with his raven locks and midnight irises. She pictured the last time she saw him, a day after graduation with his hands stuffed in his pockets and a hazy gaze that looked too far ahead, it was as if he was already gone. 

At the age of eighteen years old, Sakura had known her first heartbreak. With tears spilling down her cheeks, Sakura clutched him in a tight embrace and bade him farewell. 

She loved him once when they were young and he knew that perhaps she’d love him still even in his absence, so as parting words he left just three:

 _Wait for me._

Sakura knew what he meant. 

He wanted her to wait for him to be better, to see the world, to be free, to find himself, to be what he wanted to be instead of what his family demanded he’d be, and Sakura wasn’t one selfish enough to ask him to stay because she knew this was something that he needed.

Eight long years had passed since then. She had gone through college and medical school. She was about to intern at a nearby local hospital as well. So many things had happened in her life and she wanted nothing more than to tell him all about it.

She longed for the someday that would once again intertwine her path with his because it was still him—there was no one else that filled all of her heart.

As she finished her prayers, she opened her eyes and gave a wayward sigh.

In her mind, a single thought: _“I wish he was here.”_

That was what her heart called.

Sakura turned away from the figures of burning wax and left, her heels clicking upon the church’s cobblestone steps. The lack of sleep kept her from being attentive of her surroundings and as she was about to leave its precipice, her body collided onto what seemed to be a solid wall that had a familiar scent of mint and oak.

“Sakura.” 

She held her breath then, hope welled deep within her and she could not bring herself to raise her eyes to meet the man in front of her. 

Had the heavens thought of granting her wishes so soon? Could she bring herself to hope that he’d stay for good?

A gentle hand grasped her chin and tilted her face upwards. The same midnight eyes she envisioned a few moments ago, staring right back at her.

His hair was longer, and his faced looked more mature. Gone was his lanky build back when they were young and now what stood before her was a man that had a look of contentment, and dare she say it, happiness.

At long last, her wish had come true.

It had been eight years since Sasuke left her humble town in search for an adventure of his own.

And now Sakura can finally say the words she’d been longing to.

* * *

“ _I’m back, Sakura.”_

_“Welcome home, Sasuke-kun.”_


	4. day 5: outreach program

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> day 5: outreach program  
> rating: g  
> genre: hurt/comfort  
> tw// death

**Day 5: Outreach Program**

* * *

_ 'It’s for charity, Sasuke. It might help.’ _

Sasuke took a deep breath and brought his shaky hands towards the handles of the heavy closet door. With one tug, a gust of stale air blew out and he stared at the small space that once was his wife’s for the first time since the year that she passed.

The first object that caught his attention was her favorite green knit sweater still draped on its hook where she last left it. The sweater was the very same one she wore the first time he saw her one clear spring day, her eyes bright, her smile wide, everything from that moment permanently inscribed in his memory.

His hands grasped the familiar piece of fabric and pulled it off its hanger. He fingered the material lightly and faintly detected the smell of the fabric softener she often used for her clothes. One whiff of it sent him into a spiral of memories that were now too bittersweet to revisit.

The onset of nostalgia felt unbearable and in that second he knew. 

_ He couldn’t do this. _

With a shaky breath, Sasuke sank down to the floor and leaned against the closet frame. He clutched the crumpled sweater to his chest welling it to stop the ache in his heart. 

There was a reason he hadn’t opened these doors, it was simple:

It was just too painful.

This space was hers— it smelled like her, belonged to her, it had traces of who she was in its every nook and cranny. 

Everything was a reminder of all that he’d lost.

He couldn’t give away the sweater in his hands, nor the billowy white dress she wore on their first date. He couldn’t let go of the scarlet shirt she wore on the day he proposed, couldn’t part with the nightgown she wore on their wedding night. 

None of these should leave him as she did. 

All these material things were pieces of who she was and if these pieces of her were gone, what little would he have left?

One tear fell, then two. Silent sobs wracked the man as his mind rekindled with the remnants of Sakura’s ghosts.

_ ‘I can’t do this without you. I never wanted to.’ _

A faint knock on the door was heard but Sasuke heeded it no mind. Small light footsteps neared his form on the ground and a gentle hand soon clasped his shoulder.

“Papa?” 

Sasuke looked up to the heavy dark eyes of his daughter. She looked worried—concerned, the same look Sakura gave him whenever he was distraught.

“She wouldn’t have wanted us to be sad.”

Sarada’s arms wrapped around him in a comforting embrace and Sasuke grasped onto his child while fighting for breaths to breathe.

“I know, Sarada, I know.”

They stayed like this for several minutes, perhaps hours. When the sun shone the next day, a box lay on the floor full of clothes that smelled of fresh cherry blossoms.

* * *

_ ‘Merry Christmas, Mama. We miss you.’ _

**Author's Note:**

> hello! i'm compiling my snippet tweets again so that they're easier to manage. all my christmas drabbles for the week will be placed here so i hope you enjoy! happy holidays!! 
> 
> \- rex


End file.
